Ulster S.F.C Championships Begin

May 15, 2017

The 2017 Ulster Senior and Minor football championships will begin this weekend with an unusual double bill played over Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday May 20th at 5 pm the Monaghan and Fermanagh minors will commence the 2017 championship action in Clones as they meet in the Preliminary Round. Two hours later the Seniors from the same counties will get the ball rolling in what is one of the more eagerly awaited Ulster championship cointest for a number of years. Moinaghan will be overwhelming favourites to beat Fermanagh and after a good league campaign the Farney squad are expected to have a major impact on the 2017 championship overall, not just Ulster.

On Sunday the first of the quarter-final ties will be played in Ballybofey with the minor at 2pm followed by the Senior at 4pm. Donegal will play hosts to Antrim and here once again the hosts will be the hottest of favourites to progress to the last four. The transition by Donegal from an aged to a youthful team has earmarked them as real live Sam Maguire contenders following some very impressive league displays, as they showcased their new approach to the game, with pace and skill the primary ingredient. As we all know though league and championship are a completely different animal especially given that the only real competetive Provincial Championship of the four gets under way on Saturday night in Clones.